XII

XII


"Seneca."

My breath hitched and my fingers tightened around the edge of the table. I was trembling. Not even because of fear, but mostly because I could feel the warmth oozing from him just by being this close. My ass now bare to the air, him still fully clothed. In as much as I felt vulnerable, humiliated, the juice gushing down my thighs told him exactly how much I wanted this.

My pants dropped to my ankles, my fingers tightened around the table, my head flat against the surface and ass to the air, I didn't know what the fuck to expect next. Getting smacked again? Getting... I didn't even want to think about that.

"Why?" The voice rips out of my throat, hoarse, half-whimper, half-pant. "Why are you asking me that question? Why are you asking me if your brothers have been touching me?" I tried to make my voice loud. At least to sound bold even though I was getting weak in the knees with every ticking second. "What do you think of me?"

"That's the thing. I do NOT know what to think of you."

"I wouldn't...."

I felt his palms, warm, almost burning hot, smooth the surface of my ass cheeks. And I swear I almost melted right there and then. My stomach flipped like I was being dropped from the mountains. A whimper escaped me, followed by the ragged pant of my breath. That single touch felt like my nerves were being set on fire. I could feel him, every single part of him. Every single part of his desires. The Dragon Lord was made of darkness. But right at this very moment where we were both interconnected, like the palms of his hands drawing a smooth line across my cheeks, it was a direct connection to my soul. I felt his desires. Beyond the bloodlust, beyond the hunger for power, beyond the hunger to rule the world. I felt his desires. The yearning for me. And I swear my knees buckled and I almost fell off the table.

My fingers tightened around the edges. Don't move. Don't move. Don't ---

"I was going to save this for the night of the mating ritual..."

My heart leaped. "Why are you asking if any of your brothers have been touching me?" My voice trembled, the bold front that had been nothing but fake, barely doing anything to hide how scared I was. "You don't trust me? Or you don't trust your brothers to... ah!"

Fingers still on my ass, his thumb traced a line into my asshole. A mix of tingle and heat. He lingered for a few seconds, as if teasing me, as if waiting to see what my reaction would be. I remained still. My fingers remained at the edge of the table. I held my breath.

"...But since you're a bit impatient to be touched---"

"Nobody touched me," I rushed to say. "Nobody touched me. Do you hear that? None of your brothers touched me. None of your brothers would dare to touch me."

"There was a fire in your room. That couldn't have just happened. There was someone in your room."

"Seneca..... Please, listen...."

One hand holding my ass out, his thumb began a small rotation around the hole of my ass. The tingles not only sent a shiver down my spine. It also made my toes curl. This couldn't be the punishment. It had to be more than this. It had to be...

"Admit it, Riley." His voice was a soft lull. "There was someone in your room."

I could literally feel a clock ticking away in the distance. With each and every passing second, I could feel his patience running out. One. The heat of his fingers burned--two--enough to leave my cheeks branded. Three. I was dripping down my thighs, dripping enough for him to catch the scent of arousal, dripping enough to tell him that even though I was scared, I was also anticipating whatever he was going to do to me.

Four...

"Who was in your room?"

Five.

His thumb slid downwards. I heard him stifle a groan as he felt for the wetness with a squelch. He ran that line through my folds, rubbing slowly against my clit. Now, it was my turn to stifle back a moan. Whatever he was feeling, I felt it in ten thousand folds.

Six...

"Malrik?"

Seven...

"Or Orion?"

Eight. A throaty voice. Lust-clouded tone. The scent of arousal, musk, and juice in the air. My knees wobbling, my legs quivering, my fingers tight around the edge of the table enough to show white.

Nine.

"And do not lie to me...." He warned. "Because if you lie, I won't take things easy with you. Which of them is it?"

His thumb slid back up, wetting my asshole with my own heat. Then, abruptly, his hands left me.

In place of the burning heat was freezing cold. The silence that followed was deafening. No sound. Not a word, not even the shuffle of footsteps on the floor.

The next sound that filled the dead air?

The slow, heavy rasp of a zipper going down.